Punching above its weight, Korea draws Western partners in CNS

Deal flow and venture financings are putting South Korea on the neurology map, particularly for advanced biologics such as bispecifics and fusion proteins. With more than 70 unpartnered CNS programs, including 24 already in the clinic, the country’s footprint remains modest, but its innovativeness is increasingly partnerable.

Neurology has been one of the hardest areas for biopharma productivity, and Western drugmakers are looking beyond traditional U.S./EU hubs for differentiated blood-brain barrier (BBB) delivery approaches and CNS-relevant modalities. South Korea, historically a small player in neurology drug development, is beginning to show up in that search — not through a wave of late-stage readouts, but through discovery platforms and early-stage assets designed for CNS delivery and neurodegeneration targets...